Six-yr-old raped in Bihar, accused held after protests

A middle-aged diesel generator mechanic was arrested on Thursday for allegedly raping the six-year-old daughter of a tea vendor but not before a mob went on the rampage in protest against ‘police inaction’ in the matter.

Mohammad Kamrul Hoda, 45, was arrested Thursday afternoon from the Motipur area in the north Bihar district headquarters town of Muzaffarpur on the charge of raping the child on Wednesday.

A resident of Vishunpur Mahanand, which comes under the Motipur police station jurisdiction, Hoda allegedly took the girl to a secluded house near his workshop in Motipur late Wednesday evening and forced himself upon her.

As agitated locals assembled near his workshop after hearing the news, Hoda went 'underground’ to evade arrest.

Confirming the arrest of the accused, Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Saurabh Kumar said the police pounced on him when he tried to flee from the house he was hiding in.

"We are quizzing him. We expect something concrete to come out in the case only after his detailed interrogation," the SSP said.

Earlier on Thursday, the police resorted to a mild cane charge to disperse a mob which had blocked National Highway 28 near Motipur protesting ‘police inaction’ in the case.

Vehicular traffic on the highway was disrupted for several hours by the protestors who had assembled near Motipur chowk from 8 am onwards and shouting slogans against the police.

The protestors started pelting stones when the Motipur police used force to get the highway cleared. The blockade was removed after five hours. DSP (west) Anoj Kumar, however, denied the mob was lathi-charged.

As per the police, an FIR lodged at the Motipur police station on the basis of the victim’s father’s statement stated that Hoda offer her candy to lure her to a secluded house. “The accused also threatened the child not to reveal his misdeed”, the father said.

The victim was admitted to the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) for medical examination, where the station house officer of the women police station of Muzaffarpur recorded her statement.

DSP Kumar said a police team, comprising officials of three police stations, had been set up to look into the case.